The Poses of Painting
One of the many ways artists depict the creative process metaphorically is to pose figures in an unrelated setting as though they were figures in a studio. For instance, they might pose a man inside a bar holding a pipe or cigarette as if he were sitting in front of an easel holding a brush. Only those “in the know” would then recognize how the symbolism of the pose adds meaning to the conventional symbolism of smoking (which often links deep thought and imagination to the changing forms of smoke.) The artist’s own meaning is thereby conveyed in the resulting image, regardless of the patron’s wishes.
Artists at work often have their arms extended as well, either painting a canvas or striking marble with a hammer. This then allows figures with outstretched arms, with or without tools, to serve as visual metaphors for the artist. Titian made much use of this in the Renaissance and Michael Fried, a well-known expert on later art, has recognized that several figures in paintings by Caravaggio are posed like an artist. However, unaware of the tradition, Fried fails to see the full significance of his insight.{ref1} There are, of course, many other ways to use the poses of the studio in painting and sculpture, as we demonstrate in the entries below.
1. Fried, “Thoughts on Caravaggio”, Critical Inquiry 24, Autumn 1997, pp. 13-56; Fried sees such poses in Boy Bitten by a Lizard, The Martyrdom of St. Ursula, Bacchus and Salome Receiving the Head of John the Baptist.
All Articles (Alphabetical by Artist, then Title)
Think about who you are if, for instance, you are not yourself
Goltzius’ Portrait of Jan Govertsz van der Aar as St. Luke (1614)
See how Goya turned a battle in the streets into a battle in his studio.....and his mind
Goya’s 2nd May, 1808 (1814)
Michael Lobel explains how several of Sloan's paintings of New York street scenes are really allegories on painting
John Sloan’s Hairdresser’s Window (1907)
True artists make their art contemporary while remaining solidly traditional
John Sloan’s Hanging Clothes (c.1920)
Find out how every painter paints herself as well
Labille-Guiard’s Portrait of Madame Adélaïde (1787)
An obvious example of how later artists can see in an artist's work what we, ordinary viewers, do not.
Larry Rivers’ Déjà vu and the Red Room: Double Portrait of Matisse (1996)
How painters can imagine themselves as violinists and other musical performers
Leyster’s Self-portrait at the Easel (c.1630)
Even in the late Middle Ages altarpieces were depictions of the artist's own mind
Lianori’s Bologna Polyptych (1453)
More evidence that even at a very early date Lichtenstein was on the path of the Old Masters
Lichtenstein’s Mail-Order Foot (1961)
This angel is not just a charming detail but central to the whole conception of the altarpiece
Lotto’s San Bernardino Altarpiece (1521)
Learn how "every painter paints" himself makes logical sense of even the most confused compositions
Lotto’s Virgin and Child with Saints Roch and Sebastian (c.1522)
This early painting by Manet has always troubled interpreters because it seems to make no apparent sense. Its explanation here, though, will help you understand paintings by Manet, Velazquez and other artists too.
Manet’s Mlle. V in the Costume of an Espada (1862)
See how both Manet and Chardin veil their meaning in the same way
Manet’s and Chardin’s Soap Bubbles (18th/19th Cent.)
One of the many ways artists "paint themselves" is by painting others as earlier great masters.
Manet’s Angelina (1865)
Learn how Manet's crooked arms, repetitively appearing in his art, each come with meaning
Manet’s At the Prado
See how Manet identifies with a female artist of his own acquaintance, probably without her even knowing
Manet’s Before the Mirror (1876)
Everyone knows that Boating is a masterpiece. Why is it so difficult to explain?
Manet’s Boating (1874)
Léon Leenhof, Manet's young son, is posed in this print as though he is selecting paint from his tray (palette) and is about to apply it to the sheet of paper we are looking at.
Manet’s Boy Carrying a Tray (1860-61)
Familiarize yourself with an artist's early copies after other masters. They will be a key to later work.
Manet’s Croquet at Boulogne (1871)
Art scholars have sometimes wondered why the execution squad in Manet's Execution of Emperor Maximillian are so unrealistically close to their target. Indeed, on close inspection, their rifles are aimed as though they would miss.
Manet’s Execution of Emperor Maximillian (1867-8)
A wonderful example of how blind anyone can be using the wrong form of visual perception
Manet’s Exhibition of Paintings (c. 1876)
See how Manet's son uses a cigarette to paint the image in the wimdow
Manet’s Interior at Arachon (1871)
How remembering an artist's pose helps identify an alter ego
Manet’s Portrait of Antonin Proust (1880)
Skating on ice is like drawing lines on the mirrored surface of the artist's mind
Manet’s Skating (1877)
Keep an eye out for smoke. It's a common symbol for the imagination and the creation of art.
Manet’s Smokers
How an unfinished painting is finished and how a horse becomes an easel
Manet’s The Horsewoman (1875)
See how smoke and mirrors turn the outside of Manet's studio into the inside
Manet’s The Railway (1873)
A good example of how the "errors" in a painting are really the key to its meaning
Manet’s The Spanish Singer (1860)
Discover how Manet's backgrounds are often "paintings"
Manet’s View of the Universal Exhibition (1867)
An early example of how Manet turns a modern woman, and his future wife, into an artist
Manet’s Woman with a Jug (1858-60)
See how Matisse himself appears in even a simple drawing of an unidentified model
Matisse’s Seated Young Woman in a Patterned Dress (1939)
A mysterious drawing that has never made sense is now explained simply
Michelangelo’s Archers Shooting at a Herm (c.1530) Part 1
There is yet more meaning in the drawing as we see in Part 2 of this analysis
Michelangelo’s Archers Shooting at a Herm (c.1530) Part 2
See why Jonah is the most important figure in the chapel
Michelangelo’s Sistine Ceiling: Jonah (1512)
Michelangelo’s Last Judgment is a composition so full of incidents inconsistent with an orthdox reading of the Last Judgment and theology that experts often have trouble explaining them.
Michelangelo’s St. Sebastian in The Last Judgment
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